Grrrrr

So the house that had the fire does not have any records at City Hall . . . this means that repairs weren't done to code, weren't built with a permit and weren't approved by a Building Inspector.

Now I know there are always places you can skimp in construction and still have something remain structurally intact (my Dad has done it on his own house before) but this is fixing up a house to make its secure after a goddamned fire! I mean, I know saving money and avoiding red tape is a good thing but this is the structure of the house - how could the previous owners LIVE there before and feel safe in this kind of situation? Of course we're not going to pursue the house any more . . . I feel bad for the seller since I'm guessing this issue will be a sticky one for her (but I guess its her fault for buying the house 10 years ago in this condition anyway). The seller's broker is being SO sneaky (claiming the damage wasn't too bad, indicating all was repaired legally and saying that floors were never replaced). Our broker is going to be contacting her with the information I've gained from a few quick calls to city hall. Greasy greasy realtor!

We're going to look at http://www.diabolis.net/~bunicula/images/house4/ today during lunch . . . we shall see what happens!

From the Intranet:

Quote of the Day
"Too many people miss the silver lining because they are expecting gold."
- Maurice Setter

The never-ending house update

We came, we saw, we liked - we make offer tonight.

It was really nice, REALLY big, the yard was very pretty. The owner (and landscaper - hence the yard being really pretty) walked through the whole house with us and showed us all of the updates. Its the home he was raised in (his Dad owned it as well as the 2-family next-door) and you could tell that he and his Dad cared for the property a lot.

As with all of the houses we've looked at, because its old it would need updated electrical but what it has is working property. It has pretty woodwork and maple floors, some stained glass, replacement windows (all but the stained glass ones) and lots and lots of space. And its a safe neighborhood - there is a cop that lives across the street that we saw leaving his house when we were waiting for our broker to show up. He rolled down the window and asked accusingly "can I help you" as we were parked - good to see he's looking to make sure his neighborhood is safe.

We didn't take any pictures because the wife was home sick from work and the kids were running around (is it April vacation now?) - perhaps if the offer is accepted we'll take some when we go to watch the home inspection.

Weird, again!

We got it!

We bid on the house and after a bit of back and forth got the house for $4K under the asking price (woo hoo)! We're meeting tomorrow morning to do more official paperwork with our broker, aiming to sign a Purchase & Sale agreement on May 3 and close (and move) in mid-June.

Oh - my - God . . . I didn't think we'd be able to own a house like this http://www.diabolis.net/~bunicula/images/house4/ . I guess going out a bit further West of Boston gets you WAY more house.

Whew! On to next step: Scheduling the Home Inspection